Mia Boudreau Boudreau 1

Bruton

AP Lang p.2

11 October 2018

FFN Essay

Imagine a world full of children who loved vegetables, fruits, and healthy food in

general. This imagined world is so far from what the truth is today, and media targeted towards

children is mostly to blame. In the novel ​Fast Food Nation​, author Eric Schlosser scrutinizes and

criticizes the fast food industry and its effects on the people of the world. One of his main claims

is that “congress should immediately ban all advertisements aimed at children that promote foods

high in fat and sugar” (Schlosser 262). Although some people argue that the media does not

impact young children, I agree with Schlosser because the ways in which children are purposely

manipulated by fast food industries within the media directly leads to the characteristics and

choices they will make as adults, as well as the generations that follow them.

Fast food marketers purposefully play on children's inexperience, innocence and ability

to be easily manipulated. The marketers use deliberate and purposeful tactics within their

advertisements to manipulate children. Advertisers use specific elements in their ads that make

consumers want their products, or their food. These tactics that they use are intended to

manipulate people, especially children, without them noticing that they are being manipulated.

For example, “companies pay famous actors, athletes, and singers to endorse their products,

hoping that [people will] want the same products as celebrities [they] admire” (Bubar). Celebrity

endorsements are widely used by many companies and advertisers as a way to catch the attention

of young people and children. These endorsements also make the advertised product more

desirable if they are promoted by A-list celebrities well known and admired among society.
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McDonalds has had endorsements by famous celebrities like Heidi Klum, Britney Spears,

NSync, and Chrissy Teigen. While Burger King has been endorsed by David Beckham and

Jennifer Lawrence. Endorsements like these directly lead to an increase in sales of the advertised

product or establishment. Kate Upton starred in a Carl’s Jr. commercial and “​Carl’s Jr and

Hardee’s saw a 104-percent increase in traffic after the commercial aired” (Potters).

Advertisers use celebrity endorsements because they know that they will lead to an increase in

sales. Part of the problem is that many celebrities are endorsing not only fast food companies but

unhealthy food and products in general. For example, Pepsi’s collaboration with Beyonce, Pink,

and Britney Spears, or Diet Coke with Taylor Swift. When consumers watch ads that feature no

other than Beyonce herself supporting a certain product, they can help but want it, because if

Beyonce likes it, it must be worth it. Advertisers are not only aware of the popularity that

celebrities have in society, but also of the popularity they have within the nation’s youth. ​Many

children look up to celebrities and ‘“the popularity of music celebrities among adolescents makes

them uniquely poised to serve as positive role models…celebrities should be aware that their

endorsements could exacerbate society's struggle with obesity, and they should endorse healthy

products instead”’ (LaMotte).​ Advertisers are using celebrities to manipulate children into

wanting certain products and things. What the children don’t necessarily know is that the

celebrities are being paid to support these products and may not even use or eat them in their

actual lives. While celebrity endorsements are not the only tactic that advertisers use to get

children eating their food, many other tactics have been proven to be just as successful.

Additional tactics include, “brightly colored packaging [that] is meant to grab your attention.

Different colors can create different feelings. For example, research shows that red and yellow
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can make you hungry…, catchy jingles and slogans that get stuck in your head ensure that you

don't forget the products they're advertising… [and] advertisers hire food stylists to make burgers

look extra juicy and chips extra crispy” (Bubar).​ ​The impact that only one tactic, celebrity

endorsement, has on children is immense, and combined with other tactics like color specific

designs and food stylists, the impact is even larger. The amount of money that advertisers spend

on ads targeted towards children proves how important children and young people are to their

business. A study by NYU Langone Medical Center found that “​$2 billion a year is spent by

food and drink companies on youth-targeted ads. It's estimated that children see 4,700 ads each

year while teens view 5,900” (LaMotte).​ Advertisers are well-aware of how much their

manipulative ads impact the choices that children make regarding what products or food they

subscribe to. They are also very aware of the specific tactics that make children more likely to

want their products. This is why they spend so much money on making advertisements targeted

towards children, because they know that the outcomes will be profitable. ​Part of the

manipulation and exploitation is that advertisers are also taking advantage of children from an

extremely young age. They study, analyze, and watch children, all for the purpose of planning an

advertising timeline that will effectively and efficiently catch them in the hands of the fast food

predators.​ ​In order to do this​, “before [they] try to affect children's behavior, advertisers have to

learn about their tastes. Today's market researchers not only conduct surveys of children in

shopping malls, they also organize focus groups for kids as young as two or three” (44).​ ​Children

that are of two and three years old have no clue that they are being watched and studied for

future manipulation, and there is nothing they can do to stop it. The children are defenseless
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against the corporate giants that are preying on them. In order to protect our nation's children,

advertisements that take advantage or, and manipulate them should be prohibited.

The consequences that the fast food industry has on children can last a lifetime,

influencing the characteristics of, as well as the choices made by, the citizens of our society.

After children watch ads that are meant to persuade them into eating unhealthy food, they end up

actually eating the unhealthy food, and that makes the fast food companies and advertisers

successful in their goal while negatively impacting children’s health at the same time. Research

has “​found that kids and teens made unhealthy food and drink choices as quickly as 30 minutes

after seeing the ads” (Bubar). Not only are advertisements having long term impacts on children

throughout their life, but they are having immediate consequences as well. With each

advertisement that children see promoting unhealthy food or drinks equals at least one unhealthy

food or drink choice. With the excess of fast food advertisements present in today’s media,

children are making enough poor dietary decisions to start experiencing negative side effects.

Most outcomes of fast food consumption revolve around health concerns, and these implications

often begin in childhood. Obesity rates in the United States are high, especially among children.

In Schlosser’s ​Fast Food Nation​, he discusses the reasons for this epidemic, the main reason

being the fast food industry and its control over advertising within the media, and also its power

over the minds of the nation’s youths.​ ​The United States has the highest rate of obesity in the

entire world (Matthews) and approximately 13.7 million children and adolescents are affected by

obesity (Overweight). Obesity rates have been, and have continued to increase substantially since

the 1900’s (Overweight… Data) which not so coincidentally was around the time of the birth of

fast food. Although obesity is a large issue for adults, it also has a major presence within children
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and “c​hildhood obesity is a serious problem in the United States putting children and adolescents

at risk for poor health. Obesity prevalence among children and adolescents is still too high”

(Overweight). ​Children come into the world knowing only what they are taught and what they

learn from their experiences and soon society takes a hold of their minds and socialization begins

to shape their thoughts and beliefs.​ An inevitable part of this socialization resides in the media,

specifically television and social media. ​When children watch television and see ads that

promote unhealthy and fast food, they are more likely to eat that unhealthy food. It quickly

becomes a norm to eat unhealthy food, while the values of eating a healthy and balanced diet slip

further into the thoughts of the past.​ ​With a diet of unbalanced foods high in calories, fat, sugar,

and salt, obesity lingers not too far in the futures of most Americans. Specific types of marketing

may be more appealing to children, and purposefully so. Once fast food companies can hook a

child customer, they can lure their family members in as well, further spreading the magnitude of

the obesity epidemic.​ ​Fast food companies are trying to make children their salespeople, and all

they have to do is “persuade other people, usually their parents, to buy what they want” (43).

Advertisers market towards children, get the children to want their product, then the children

become the salespeople for them, and the negative effects of eating fast food spread further

throughout our society. Children are not adults who are participating in the economy, but their

parents and relatives are. Therefore, if the companies can sell their product to the child, the child

sells it to their parents, who then fuels the fast foods’ economy. This natural acceptance that fast

food is the “right” food to be eating leads to health concerns like obesity, diabetes, and more. It

allows obesity to prevail in generations of the past, present and future. Corporate giants and fast

food companies are aware of what they are doing, and they are doing it on purpose with an
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incentive to gain more customers and income. By allowing ads that promote unhealthy, fast

foods to children, Congress is prohibiting and even aiding with an increase in obesity rates as

well as unhealthy lifestyles that are potentially fatal.

The children of today are the adults of tomorrow and by raising them with the notion that

fast food is an adequate dietary choice leads to a society full of people who are unhealthy,

unhappy, and continuing to contribute to a nation that lives on fast food. The media and the large

fast food corporations within it are attempting to convert children into lifetime subscribers of

their brand and their products. By doing this, they are neglecting the results of this subscription.

When children are frequently promoted fast foods that will or can lead to unhealthy lifestyles

from a young age, it becomes integrated into their thoughts, beliefs, and morals that this is what

they are supposed to eat. Not only does fast and unhealthy food negatively impact physical

health, research shows that it can have an effect on mental health as well.​ ​It has been proven that

“fast food-rich diets lead to obesity, [and] children's chances for depression, low self-esteem,

anxiety and a sense of hopelessness are increased” (McLaughlin). ​Advertisements within the

media are a major reason that children consume fast and unhealthy foods. After children see an

ad that promotes fast food, they eat the fast food, then with repetition, negative emotional and

mental side effects can occur in addition to negative physical side effects. ​This potential

emotional side effect of eating fast food, is something that the children are the victims to. If ads

promoting fast food were not presented to children, they would not feel as like they ​need​ to eat

fast food. They feel like eating fast food is necessary because that is what the commercials and

advertisements created by the fast food companies tell them. Thinking they are only doing what

society wants them to do, they are unaware of how their mental health is being impacted as well
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as their physical health. ​Patterns of fast food consumption develop and ​these patterns continue

and takeover the minds of American children. ​They live through their adolescence making

unhealthy decisions revolving around food and then grow up and pass it on to a new generation

of children, creating a vicious cycle with no end in sight. This cycle has the potential to end

however, but only if action is taken to stop it at its roots. The beginning resides within the media

through persuasive advertisements that children unknowingly pledge to. ​Not only are fast food

companies creating child customers, but in many cases, they are creating customers for life,

hooking people on fast food when they are young and may not be aware of how they are being

manipulated.​ The fast food companies are “hoping that nostalgic childhood memories of a brand

will lead to a lifetime of purchases, [and] companies now plan “cradle-to-grave” advertising

strategies” (43). Fast food companies are looking to create emotions that connect the children to

their products. Strategies like lovable mascots, and witty sayings are all components that kids

remember and associate with corresponding products. They then grow older and when the

familiar faces of fast food come back to them, they cannot resist in indulging in a memory of

their childhood. This also fuels the cycle of fast food consumption and assists in the prevalence

of unhealthy habits; and it can all directly be linked back to the advertisements that bought the

children when they were young.

In conclusion, fast food advertisements are causing children to consume fast and

unhealthy foods. These poor dietary choices lead to unhealthy lifestyles and a society full of

people who continue to consume fast food. One potential solution to this problem is a law that

prevents advertisers from specifically targeting children. A law would strictly enforce and

prohibit fast food companies from attempting to buy the business of a child. So, Congress should
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ban advertisements aimed at children, especially those coming from fast food companies. This is

a measure that will protect the innocence and minds of the youth as well as the minds of the

future adults of our society. In order for the cycle to end, it needs to be interrupted, and if

Congress were to put a ban on advertisements targeting children, that would effectively interrupt

and dismantle the cycle that is slowly killing people, both physically and emotionally.
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Works Cited

Bubar, Joe. “Attack of the Ads.” ​Junior Scholastic,​ vol. 119, no. 10, Mar. 2017, p. 4.

EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=prh&AN=121561097&site=ehost-live​.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. ​Overweight

and Obesity​ ​Data​ commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USObesityRate1960-2004.gif.

LaMotte, Sandee. “Teen Fave Musicians Endorse Mostly Junk Food, Study Finds.” ​CNN,​ Cable

News Network, 23 Mar. 2018,

www.cnn.com/2016/06/06/health/musicians-endorse-junk-food/index.html.

Matthews, Susan E. “Are We as Fat as We Think?” ​EverydayHealth.com,​ Everyday Health, 3

June 2014, ​www.everydayhealth.com/news/are-we-fat-think/​.

McLaughlin. “Detrimental Effects of Fast Food on Children.” ​Healthy Eating | SF Gate,​ 11 June

2018, healthyeating.sfgate.com/detrimental-effects-fast-food-children-2635.html.

“Overweight & Obesity.” ​Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,​ Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, 13 Aug. 2018, ​www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html​.

Potters, Jaimie. “Meghan Markle, Taylor Swift, and Other Celebrities You Never Knew

Promoted Fast Food.” ​Marie Claire​, Marie Claire, 30 Aug. 2018,

www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/g22746554/celebrities-fast-food-advertisements/?slide=9

Schlosser, Eric. ​Fast Food Nation the Dark Side of the All-American Meal.​ Houghton Mifflin

Company, 2001.